Burlington council will consider downtown parking changes

Monday

Burlington City Council will consider changing enforceable hours for on-street parking downtown, in addition to other changes recommended by a downtown parking study.

In November 2012, city staff agreed to use the study to pinpoint downtown parking issues and make recommendations to ease problems raised at public input sessions held by Carl Walker Inc., the consulting firm contracted by Burlington to develop the study and plan.

Concerns raised during the survey included downtown business employees overstaying the on-street parking time limits or performing the “two-hour shuffle” to move their cars to the next available on-street spot and avoid a ticket.

People also complained that drivers used handicap tags to remain in one- and two-hour parking spaces for as long as they wanted, since North Carolina law prohibits time restrictions on drivers with handicap tags.

To combat any abuse of the handicap placards, a plan the council will see at a meeting at 7 Tuesday night at City Hall recommends that Burlington police begin issuing state citations for drivers illegally using the placards, which could result in a $250 fine.

Assistant Police Chief Eric Kerns said in such cases, “(Parking Enforcement) would call a uniformed officer to take care of the citation.”

“There is a number on the placard that they can run through the Division of Motor Vehicles,” he said.

A more widespread change in enforceable hours for on-street parking would also help prevent the “two-hour shuffle,” said Nolan Kirkman, Burlington’s public works director. Currently, the enforceable hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on several downtown streets.

At today’s meeting, the council will consider changing those hours to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the following streets: Front Street from Church Street to Lexington Avenue; Davis Street from Church Street to Broad Street; Maple Avenue from Church Street to Broad Street; Morehead Street from Church Street to Mebane Street; Fifth Street from Church Street to Worth Street; Broad Street from Morehead Street to Davis Street; Lexington Avenue from Webb Avenue to Maple Avenue; Spring Street from West Webb Avenue to the LabCorp cul-de-sac; Worth Street from Webb Avenue to Fifth Street; Main Street from Fifth Street to Front Street; city parking lots numbers 1 through 6.

Another proposed change would convert 50 of the two-hour spaces in lot number 1 to all-day spaces, remove that lot’s time limit restriction, and convert 13 of the two-hour spaces and 29 leased spaces in lot number 2 to all-day spaces.

Kirkman said those lot changes will give downtown employees more access to all-day, off-street parking.

“The goal is to free up on-street spaces,” he said.

Additionally, the city would create an education and partnership campaign to inform downtown employers, employees and visitors of the new parking rules, and work with the employers to encourage their employees to park in lots, instead of on the street.

If approved by the council, these parking changes would go into effect July 1.

THE COUNCILwill also hold a public hearing and vote on the city’s Water Shortage Response Plan at the meeting. The plan, required by state statute, establishes a detailed response plan in the event of a water shortage emergency, as declared by the City of Burlington.

According to the draft plan, drought-related water shortages would be announced in open city council sessions, newspapers and on the city’s website. In the case of quickly developing shortages – due to equipment failures, contamination, etc. – the emergency would be reported on radio, television and the city’s website.

The plan outlines responses to the different stages of water shortages, including continuing voluntary conservation, moderate mandatory conservation in the case of an established drought, severe mandatory conservation in the case of a prolonged drought, stringent mandatory conservation in case of severe water loss and rationing.

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